by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)
Two Arkansas researchers will be gauging consumer sentiment as well as evaluating any health and economic benefits of meat products from livestock raised on perennial forage systems. The goal is to significantly increase food production in the coming decades.
The $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will focus on studying and promoting perennial forage systems. The grant is part of USDA’s efforts to increase U.S. farm production by 50% while reducing the environmental footprint for production by 40% by 2050. Arkansas was awarded just over $500,000 of the grant for its work.
The project is led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison and involves a team of more than 50 researchers and stakeholders from 23 universities, two USDA-Agricultural Research Service centers, as well as 12 farmer organizations, industry groups, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies.
